Englsih Language Change Framework Revision Cards (A2)

LEXIS: 

• Coinage/Neologism: A new word.
• Obsolete: When a word is no longer in use.
• Borrowings/Load: When a word is taken directly from a different language.
• Affixiation: Prefixes (anti-/post-/pre-) and Suffixes (-ate/-ic/-al)
• Compounding: When words are joined together (headace, today)
• Conversion: Where a word class changes to create a new word (To invite, an invite)
• Blend: When two words merge (brunch)
• Abbreviation: When a word is shortened (telephone - phone)
• Accronym: Letters that stand for something (NASA, RADAR)
• Intitialism: When the initial letters of a word make a word but not said as a word (ATM)
• Eponyms: Words from names/places (Hoover, Sony)
• Jargon: Specialised formal or technological terminology.
• Slang: Informal and colloquial words (reem, worldie)

SEMANTICS:

Extention: The meaning of the word widens.

Narrowing: The meaning shortens.

Pejoration: The meaning becomes increasingly more negative over time

Amerlioration: The meaning becomes increasingly more positive over time.

Broadening: The meaning changes from a restricted semantic field to a larger one.

Figuartive Language: The word 'Crane' refers to a bird. but also building equipment.

GRAMMAR:

Grammar has changed gradually over the last 1000 years, but since the 17th Century it hasn't changed much since STANDARDISATION.

Inflexions: We have lost a lot of inflexions over the years. We still use some, however not as many. Most nouns now go from singular to plural wit -s. There was much more lexical variation in old English (hand/handa)

Pronouns: Thou/thee/thine have gone except for regional varieties.

Syntax: Word order (subject + object) used to be indentified by the inflexions.

Double Negatives: The double negative used to be acceptable but not since standardisation. At the end of the 20th Century, putting -not at the end of sentences became popularised by media and film.

GRAPHOLOGY:

The Long 'S' has been dropped

Technological advances - photoraphy, print, film, colour etc.

Fonts used

The size of the text

Bold, italicised or under underlined text

Position of the text

PRAGMATICS

Think carefully about what each text tells us about life at the time it was written:

• Culture
  
• Poverty
• Food
• Clothing
• Transport
• Technology
• Religion
• Family Networks
• Beliefs